EFCC asks Lagos court to assign Fayose's case to another judge as the current one is from Ekiti

ECONOMIC and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) officials have written to the federal high court in Lagos asking that it transfers Governor Ayo Fayose's pending case before Justice Mojisola Olatoregun to another judge because she also from Ekiti State.

Governor Fayose who governed Ekiti State between 2014 and 2018, is currently facing trial at the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos in connection with the sums of N1.3bn and $5.3m allocated to him through the Office of the National Security Adviser from a N4.65bn slush fund. His case, which started in November for which the EFCC has already called 10 out of the 14 witnesses, is before Justice Olatoregun and has enjoyed accelerated hearing.

However, in a dramatic twist, the EFCC has sent a petition to Justice A Abdul-Kafarati, the chief judge of the Federal High Court, alleged bias against the trial judge. Signed by the EFCC's acting chairman Ibrahim Magi, the letter asks that the case be assigned to another judge in the interest of justice and fair play.

In the petition, Mr Magu said Justice Olatoregun is from the same state with Governor Fayose and in fact she is a princess of Ijero Kingdom in Ekiti State. However, Governor Fayose's legal team has kicked against the move, saying seeking the transfer of the case at this point amounted to shopping for a backdoor arrangement to nail the ex-governor, stressing that justice should be for both prosecution and the defendant.

Ola Olanipekun, Governor Fayose's counsel, expressed shock, describing the EFCC petition as a backdoor arrangement which is legally misconceived. He referred to Section 98(2) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015 and the recent decision of the Court of Appeal in the case of FRNV Lawan , which barred the chief judge from transferring case in which the prosecution had already called witnesses.